Moscow - Russian energy stocks plummeted on deteriorating global oil prices Thursday with export monopoly Gazprom loosing two- thirds of its market value as indices hit three-year lows.

Oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil led a plunge of over 11 per cent on the MICEX index, where most Russian stock's are traded, before trading was halted at 4:12 pm (1200 GMT) on Thursday.

Brussels  - Russia's withdrawal of its soldiers from parts of Georgia outside the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is a good start, but it is not enough for EU member states to re-open talks on a strategic deal with Russia, EU leaders agreed Thursday.

Brussels - The European Union will do anything in its power to facilitate direct talks between Georgia and Russia following the collapse of talks in Geneva, but the chances of a quick breakthrough are slim, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Thursday.

"After the big tension in August, it is very difficult to get face-to-face talks. But we will do everything possible," Solana said on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.

Solana's comments came a day after talks between Russia and Georgia in Geneva - the first since the Russian-Georgian war in August - were suspended amid mutual recriminations.

Reykjavik - Iceland was set to continue talks with Russia over a loan to ease its financial situation, the Icelandic central bank said in a statement Thursday.

During the two-day talks in Moscow that ended Wednesday, delegates from the Icelandic Finance Ministry and central bank met with, among others, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Dimitri Pankin.

Pankin said in the joint statement there was need for "further exploration of the issues before we can reach a final decision."

Iceland earlier has mentioned the sum of 4 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars).

The Icelandic central bank on Wednesday lowered key interest rates from 15.5 to 12 per cent.

Brussels - Russia should be allowed to join the European Union in the coming years, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday.

"I consider Russia to be a Western nation. So my project is that the Russian Federation should become a member of the EU in the coming years," Berlusconi told Italian reporters on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.

Berlusconi's comments on Russia's EU aspirations were not new, but they nevertheless raised eyebrows in Brussels.

Geneva - The first talks between Georgia and Russia since their five-day war in August have been suspended without resolution at a United Nations meeting in Geneva Wednesday, a UN representative said.

Representatives from the United States, European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were taking part in the talks.